Nigel Farage Hits Back At Archbishop In Row Over 'Racist' Immigration Comments

Nigel Farage has hit back at the Archbishop of Canterbury, accusing him of turning a "blind eye" to the problem of immigration.

Yesterday Justin Welby accused the Ukip leader of "giving legitimisation to racism" with his claim EU membership could lead to more Cologne-style sex attacks on women.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain this morning, following last night's ITV's referendum debate with David Cameron, Farage said for Welby to "to try to talk about this and to link it to people who are black or racism is ludicrous"

"This is the Archbishop who, in his New Year’s message on 6 January, didn’t even make any mention of what had gone wrong in Cologne," he said.

"What actually has happened in Germany and in Sweden is there is a cultural difference, that there are countries in North Africa and the Middle East where women are not treated as they are in the West."

During last night's TV debate, Farage told an audience member to "calm down" after they accused him of scaremongering over immigration.

He also lashed out at the audience for suggesting that he had no support among black Britons. “I can’t do a lot...unless I’m allowed to talk..There is big support for me among our ethnic minorites," Farage claimed

This morning, former Tory leader William Hague, who is campaigning for a 'Remain' vote, attempted to steer the debate back to the economy.

"Immigration is not the issue on which to decide the referendum. It's what's best for our economic growth in the future," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

David Cameron was grilled by the same ITV audience as Farage last night for his own failures to control immigration.

The prime minister, who urged viewers to back "Great Britain" not "Little England", was jeered when he admitted he couldn’t put a figure on how much his Brussels renegotiation would cut foreign national numbers.

Appearing before MPs yesterday, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said of Farage's comments aboutCologne: "I think that is an inexcusable pandering to people’s worries and prejudices, that’s giving legitimisation to racism.

"What that is, is accentuating fear for political gain and that is absolutely inexcusable."